While everyone has been having fun at Tonmo II, I was hand sawing wood in my bathroom building my new tank!

It is a new 150 setup to hopefully house Sepia Officinalis. I didn't realize it was going to be such an undertaking and even though Ive done most DIY, Ive spent a good amount of money so far. I live in a loft with no garage and a concern for making too much noise, so much of the wood I had to hand cut. I'm going to start looking like a fiddler crab soon with the amount of exercise my right arm is getting.

Here are the basics to the tank:

-150 gallon display glass tank (Drilled the back bottom two corners to create two 1 inch overflows) I didn't drill the bottom for it was tempered glass.
-AquaEuro Recirculating 265 skimmer (Plumbed external from sump for less heat)
-30 Gallon sump with DIY trickle wet dry containing 1 cubic foot of biobale and a small refugium.
-PanWorld 50PX-X (Externally plumbed With a fan modification dropping the tank temp 2 degrees)
-Wavy Sea wave maker
-Icecap Vortec pump for circulation and less heat. (I know expensive..Very nice flow, circulates water ALL over the tank without too strong a force or suction. Im incredibly impressed with it)
-Dual 250 Watt MH and 4 36" T5 39 watt for lighting. (MH will only be on for a couple hours a day)
-Custom made Stand and Hood


I still have a lot of work to do, but thought Id share my project.

Here are some pictures-

Current State of the tank With an almost finished hood. (The Rock work is temporary for I'm waiting for some agrocrete shelf rocks i made to kure. All the rocks in the tank will be placed on top of the shelf rocks which will be 6-8 inches off the sand allowing for a lot of surface area for the cuttles to bury and play)
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/Fullwithood1.JPG

Sump and Skimmer
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/sumpandSkimmer.JPG

Return pump with Fan mod (Looks pretty Star Trekky)
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/Pumpwithfan.JPG

Inside the hood (Still need to add T5s)
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/hood.JPG


I was attempting to design the tank to have the lowest temperature possible. It seemed to be a good design for water temperature is usually 2-4 degrees above ambient. Sitting at 77-79. With a fan for evaporation, I was able to get it to low 70s upper 60s.


Mostly, I wanted to post this to document and share my new source of joy and frustration, but if you have any questions or comments, they are greatly welcomed. I have a million pics from the process of my tank build also, so If you want to see something in detail, just ask!

If your interested in costs, here is my list.. Its totalling to be much more then I anticipated, but I purchased a few pricey items that I feel would be good investments in the long run. Also, I used so much trim for the stand, tank and hood, that it basically double the cost of the wood required for just the structure. I added victorian trim to the tank itself, with the top piece holding curtain rod mounts. I plan to have a red velvet curtain that can easily be placed on the tank. This is not only for aesthetics, but to block the light from the tank if Im projecting a movie in the same room. =)

skimmer -280
stand - 102 - trim
90 - wood, panels, and hardware
50 - lights and hardware for doors
sump and parts - 60
Tank - 200
Pump - 112
plumbing and valves - 60
wavysea - 250
vortech 330
tank trim 100
sand 60
dual 250 electronic ballast and bulbs and reflector - 250
t5 retrofit 4x36" - 150

Two questions.

1) Where did you get a dual 250 ballast with reflectors for 250?

2) Why do you have so much light on a cool water tank?

Impressive!

Nice! It will be great to have you back up and running neighbor!

Its looking like 2100 or so wasthe total for any one like me who was wondering,sorry if you don't like seeing that number.

Two questions.

1) Where did you get a dual 250 ballast with reflectors for 250?


2) Why do you have so much light on a cool water tank?


1.Used on Craigslist. It was a good buy. Came with generic electronic ballast, spider reflectors, and 2 bulbs supposedly 2 months old.

2. Halides come on for only a couple hours a day. Which is enough for the corals I plan on keeping. Its actaully not much light for a tank this size. To keep temperatures down, The entire back of the hood is open and the MH are about 10 inches above water level. With the MH on half the day, water temp rises maybe 1 degrees. My plan for temperature control would just be a fan for evaporation and I plan to add a 10" fan in the hood for this, along with cooling from evaporation, this would negate any heat from the lights as well.

For the majority of the day, the tank will be lit with just four 39 watt T5s.

Nice! It will be great to have you back up and running neighbor!


Yup, its nice to even have something holding water! With no cephs, I still find myself staring into the tank.

Once its all stable, Ill be able to baby sit your cuttles if the need ever arises again.

Its looking like 2100 or so wasthe total for any one like me who was wondering,sorry if you don't like seeing that number.

The tank probably could have been done easily for around 1000-1200. It all depends on how cool you want it to look and how much time you want to dedicate to maintenance.

Personally, Aesthetics and more automation with less hands in the tank are high on my priority list.

Most of the tank was funded by selling off old equipment, tax refund, Bday )tank was bought by my girlfriend), and selling one of my squid sculptures. :razz:

The vortech although I feel works amazing, really put me on the cup o noodles/mac n cheese diet this month though!

Your stand and hood are beautiful! Maybe you should start custom designing stands... It would fit so nicely with my 150-year-old house :grin:.

Yup, its nice to even have something holding water! With no cephs, I still find myself staring into the tank.

Once its all stable, Ill be able to baby sit your cuttles if the need ever arises again.

When is it going to be stable? :grin: I may need you to baby sit my cuttles while I revamp my entire system.

When is it going to be stable? :grin: I may need you to baby sit my cuttles while I revamp my entire system.


Not sure yet. I dont have all the correct test kits at the moment, But I used almost all live sand and live rock. The bio bale was in my old system for about 1 month before being transfered. The tank has been going for 2 weeks now.

Without accurate test kits right now, I dont know if Im still expecting a mini cycle or if Ill have one at all. When are you planning on revamping and how long would that take you?

Your stand and hood are beautiful! Maybe you should start custom designing stands... It would fit so nicely with my 150-year-old house :grin:.

Thanks! Sounds like a lot of work though. I cant wait until Im done with the tank for Ive been spending too much time slaving away and not enjoying. Plus if you see the stand and hood up close, you will notice a lot of imperfections. If I had a real woodshop it would be much nicer.

Now to vacuum all the saw dust out of my bathroom before the girlfriend comes home...

Do you know how many Sepia bandensis that tank could hold???? You're going to the dark side buddy...;)

Do you know how many Sepia bandensis that tank could hold???? You're going to the dark side buddy...;)


If Im unsuccessful in my Officinalis quest, Ill have the answer to your question.. =)

Daniel,

Let me know when you are ready for animals, and I'll see if I can find you the cuttle you desire. :grin:

If Im unsuccessful in my Officinalis quest, Ill have the answer to your question.. =)

I was really impressed by the Pharonis they had at MOTE, too... they looked and behaved quite a bit like Officinalis but were a bit more cryptic when resting... Of course, I haven't heard of any suppliers except the NRCC, who can't sell to private ceph-keepers, so they're probably even harder to get the Officinalis

Thales - Just checked water parameters again (but with crappy test kits) All still seem to be in perfect parameters. How many cuttles and at what age are yours? Ill need to know what kind of bio load to expect and to setup a food tank.


Monty - Ive not had the opportunity to see Pharonis in person. The rare amounts of times Ive seen Cuttles in public aquaria, they have always been Officinalis. Wish I coulda been there to see them!

Hey Daniel,

I have 8 3 month olds right now. I will prolly be able to take care of them myself for the rebuild, but I'll let you know.

:grin:

Thales - Just let me know if you need anything. Im going to plumb in a small live food tank soon, and throw some grass shrimp in there and watch my parameters. If nothing changes, Im going to assume Im good to go.


Been finishing up the hood today. Here is a current picture. I made it so it is actually 2 pieces that can slide apart if I really need to get my hands in there.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/tankopen.JPG

That's a real work of art. I'm impressed. :notworth:

Thanks!

Omg that's cool! Looks like a Lamborgini tank!!!

very cool, you are a master aesthete and quite a woodworker! Did you do all the router stuff yourself? And the staining?

Been finishing up the hood today. Here is a current picture. I made it so it is actually 2 pieces that can slide apart if I really need to get my hands in there.


:bugout: You mean you don't have to lift a ridiculously heavy hood to actually get to the part of the tank you need to maintain??? You have a future in tank design... I also like how you suspended the lights from the hood so that they are not sitting on the top of the tank.

How thick is the glass you used? Can you give me an idea of just the glass price. I've been thinking of building a plywood tank. You tank is an insperation.

Brock Fluharty - Originally I wanted to have the hood be in two parts as it is now, but each side would be able to swivel out. Now that woulda been a real Lamborghini tank =)

Monty - Thanks for the kind words! I didn't do all the routering myself on this project. I don't have access to all the tools as I used to, so Im limited to what I can get away with in a small art room and a bathroom.. The staining I did here, which was probably a bad idea because Im sure ive lost some very important childhood memories due to all the fumes.

Cuttlegirl - I hear you on the ridiculously large and heavy hood thing. After my last tank, I realized I needed something different. Too bad I don't have a secret tank room on the other side of the tank like so many hardcore reefers do..

Delosa - I purchased the tank from a friend for 200 bucks. It was new and never used, so I couldn't pass up that deal for it would be similar in price as building my own tank. The glass is 1/2 inch thick and is sturdy as a rock. Only thing I dislike about it, is there are two braces that go across the top of the tank which block a small amount of light. I really wanted a glass tank though for a couple reasons. Tank transfer heat right through it, while plexi is an insulator and keeps the tank warm. And no matter how careful I am, my plexi tank will build up scratches.

While researching, on Reef Central, I saw a few incredible plywood tank builds. Its cheap, very easy to configure to your exact needs and pretty easily done. If you start that project, be sure to keep us posted with a lot of pictures!

Thanks for the info paradox. This has been a real interesting thread. I haven't researched plywood tanks yet on reef central. That's a good suggestion.

Can't wait to hear/see more of your progress.

Paradox,
What stain did you use to get the dark cherry color? When I inquired about how to get the color at an unfinished furniture store, I was told it was nearly impossible to create the color at home and that it was a special three coat finish. The last thing I tried, I had to paint the stain on - no wiping - and let it dry for 2 weeks. It worked pretty well but was a real pain. The project before that, I used hair dye :roll: as well as a stain.

wow. I have got to agree with some of the others here that you ought to start a tank design business.

Delosa - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1132496&highlight=plywood+tank+foam is one of the plywood tanks I was looking at when I was researching using foam to make rocks. His whole tank is covered with that foam! I made a couple shelf pieces but had to abandon that project after I realised how incredibly bouyant the foam was. I thought Piling rocks on top would be enough to hold it down, but it was even close. Ill post pics of that failed project soon =)

Dwhatley- I used basic minwax red oak. Ive found that if you cant find and exact color that is pre made, you can easily mix combinations. Ive made a dark and nice red coffee table by mixing. I cant recall what i used, but it was a combination of different brands. You can get a deep stain by just staining it multiple times. Ive tried the non-wipe method before and it was hard to keep dust from settling on it. Maybe my place is just to dirty to do that heh. never used hair dye as a stain, but i did just accidentally get stain on my hair the other day =) Thats what happens when you wipe the sweat off your forehead with your hand while still holding onto the brush.

Paradox,
We would definitely make a messy team :wink:. I have mixed my stains so much I no longer know what was originally in the can and when I get something I like, I am never sure what I ultimately used. Don't bother with the hair dye though, it soaks in after about a week and fades and is an expensive experiment. It did seem to darken the wood (cedar) enough to eventually allow the bed to come out as I wanted but it took me over a month to be satisfied enough to urathane it.

Red stain in my hair would not show much but once my boss thought my attempt at coloring my grey failed until she realized it was the paint from my weekend wall painting project - true story.

My problem is more with impatience. Im always eager to see the results, so I rush processes like staining. My final product would probably be much better if I waited more =) Funny story about your hair =)


If anyone is interested, Here are some pics of things that did not work.

-foam rock shelf (Made from the Great Stuff sealant)

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/famshelf.JPG

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/foamshelf2.JPG


I ended up redoing it with a whitish grey foam instead of the yellowish here.
The end product actually looked good. I never got a pic before I threw it away. The thing was incredibly bouyant. Too much to just pile rocks on. If you were to do this, I would recommend having it siliconed to the tank when its empty or som ehow integrate a large rock or brick in the piece to weigh it down.


-From researching possibilities to have the least amount of pumps used for flow, I read about eductors. They are just pieces that you add to an output of flow that is designed to suck more water from the area around it and can double even triple the flow rate depending on the stats of the pump. I originally got this to add on the wavy sea, to see if it would create enough flow for the whole tank.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/eductor.JPG

The problem with this is not that it didnt work.. It worked way to well, blowing everything in its path and creating actual waves in the tank to flow back and forth. This caused water to flush back and forth on my two overflows causing a loud flushing noise. If anyone wants to add more flow and not add more pumps, these things are incredible. Just not for what I planned.


Heres a list of things I need to make
-Create acrylic cuttle baby and food area, to sit and be plumbed in the stand of the tank.
-Control Center that will give me one neat place to control all the devices and monitors for the tank.
-Make a Kalk Reactor to add to my top off. (This is more for the corals in the tank and probably isn't even necessary for that, but Ill get good Coraline growth)

where did that eductor come from?

I'm very interested in increasing flow in tanks without grinding up critters in pumps (after adding a 780 gph pump in a closed loop to my 24 gallon I went from a huge pod population to almost none)

In the aquarium world, they renamed eductors to Penductor. Probably so they can sell something thats normally 5 bucks for 25. You know how it goes..

I purchased mine at http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog/Plumbing-Fittings/Outflow-Assemblies/Penductors/

Actually Ive purchased many things from this store recently for they seem to be the cheapest with good Service as well if you have problems.

These things really do work, so be careful or you'll have too much flow. There are a couple do it yourself plans out for them as well. For 5-10 bucks in pieces. I hear they work but aren't as good as the ones I linked earlier. But that might be a good thing if you want a small increase.

im very surprised these things arent used more often in aquariums. Especially in the reefing world.

Made a little progress on the tank.

Snail Guarded the overflows and built the cuttle nursery.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/OverflowGuard.JPG

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/OverflowGuard2.JPG

Use some scrap acrylic and Gutter guard material found at OSH. The overflow is now snail and cuttle proof, but probably not octo proof unless I double up the material. I didn't want to use too fine of a mesh on the overflow, since it would require cleaning often.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/Nursery.JPG

Made the nursery of 1/4 inch acrylic. It has a sliding divider that can be taken in and out. Also, for newborns, I made a small breeder net like cage using 1/8" acrylic and window screen material. Window screen material was also used with the overflow, and on the holes of the divider allowing water flow. Water input is from a T'ed off and ball valve connection to the return of the main tank. The water output exits a small overflow that drains into the wet dry area of the sump.


All parameters are good. I am housing a few coral frags and they are doing well. They give me something to look at until It comes time to get some cuttles.

Next, I will be wiring up 4 120mm computer fans for cooling and circulation in the hood.


Id like to get this thing all done, but my pace seems to be limited now more by $$ then time :sad:

Been too lazy to update this post, but Ive finished building the other components for this setup including Auto Top off, doser, and a control panel. Ive also finished a lot of the rockwork in which I scrapped the idea of the agrocrete shelf rocks and just made a lot of structures by glueing live rock together.

Heres my 20 gallon top off reservoir and old laboratory dosing pump. I made it look a lot more complicated then it is.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/TopOff.JPG
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/Hoste4dImages/FishTankBuild/PeristalticPump.JPG

And here is my control panel.
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/150Tank/ControlPanel.jpg
http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/150Tank/ControlPanelIOpen.jpg

Ive semi updated mywebsite and details of this tank can be found at
http://thetentacleparadox.com/CuttleFarmArmy-TheFarm.htm


Also, Ive decided to just go the Bandensis Route instead of Officianalis, since they are more readily available. Ive also recently added more liverock in the center of the tank which is more cavernouse. I can see this to be where many cuttles will take up residence and will be dubbed the cuttle condos. =)

As always, your aesthetics are impeccable!

:notworth:

Hehe thanks Monty! I got tired of using the old garbage can for top off in the closet trick =)

So when are you buying the castle with the dinning hall that will nicely complement this tank? NICE! Love the control console idea too!

you and my dad would have fun in a room of mechanical parts.... :roflmao:

Heres a little update on my setup.

I plumbed in a Food section. Im using a gravity fed design. A rodi sized tube has been added to my overflow that siphones water into this chamber. I have drilled the bottom of this tank and put a standpipe in it covered with a window mesh. This then drains through a 3/4" tube to the sump.

I currently am raising a batch of 7 Bandensis which are almost a month old at the moment. Ill create a different post for these guys =)

During the first 4 weeks, I housed 200 mysids easily in this chamber. I just moved to purchasing shore shrimp and it is now holding 250 larger shrimps. Its very crowded in there, but they are all alive and eating.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/150Tank/FoodTank.JPG

Here are recent pics of my aquascaping.

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/150Tank/Left.JPG

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/150Tank/Right.JPG

http://thetentacleparadox.com/images/150Tank/Center.JPG

Im growing higher light corals on top of the tank. The tank is 30 " tall, so the light does get change in intenisty a great deal as it goes down the tank. The shelf structures of the rock creates a variety of shading.

Do you still have a short light cycle on there even with the SPS? Or are you leaving them on longer because you are housing S. Bandensis instead of S. Officinalis?

The Bandensis are still in the baby chamber. Im still experimenting with the light cycle and probably will continue until I place the cuttles in and see how they react. Right now the halides are on 5 hours and T5s are lighting the rest of the time. In nature , Bandensis are found over coral reefs and coastal shallow waters. I will attempt to replicate this environment to some degree. Ive recently added my second vortech pump and both are being wirelessly controlled on a reef crest mode.

Paradox,
How about a full tank shot? Looking Great! As always, the addition is perfect for your motif! If I were into Goth I would be sooo jealous but my simple oriental doesn't need the degree of creativity (love seeing it though). What is the decorative structure that looks like metal made of (resin?), How much water does it hold and did you make the "tank" part for it yourself of find something that was water tight? I am looking for creative ideas for a fuge that will be fully visible for the "next year" tank and the housing intrigues me. Thanks (and start that Bandensis journal ... Please!)

Very nice thread and tank setup! I am a reefer too, and I too did the great stuff "frocks" as I dubbed them. Buoyant is not even a fair word for that stuff. I am suprised it doesn't float in air!. One of our local reefers has an entire tank done in great stuff, and once the coraline grows on it, it looks more natural than natural rocks do! I do the same kind of style aquascaping, lots of dangerous balancing, and tons of archways etc for my tangs to speed through as they race each other around the tank. Again, sweet setup, the corals look great!